JPH02266420A - Information recording and reproducing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To speed up the reading and writing processing of recording information by executing the picking control of a medium and the reading/writing control of the medium in parallel based upon an inputted command. CONSTITUTION:A host computer 20 successively detects the storage positions of respective media temporarily stored in a post buffer 13 prior to the fullness of the post buffer 13 and successively supplies rack data indicating these storage positions to an automatic stock control device 21 to successively store the media 1 temporarily stored in the post buffer 13 in the storage positions of a rotary rack 2. Consequently, the power saving of handling work and the secrecy of information can be attained and the reading/writing processing of recording information can be accelerated by executing the reading/writing processing of the media 1 in parallel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an information recording and reproducing system used in automated warehouses and the like for storing and managing media.

(Prior Art) In conventional automated warehouses that store media such as magnetic tapes, optical disks, floppy disks, etc., a computer that manages inventory in the automated warehouse selects and takes out media on which necessary information is recorded. It is used in a stand-alone manner.

Then, the removed media is loaded into an information input/output device installed outside the automated warehouse, and the necessary information is read out and
Alternatively, after being written, it is unloaded and stored in an automated warehouse again.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional system described above has the following problems.

In other words, in a system using conventional automated warehouses,
When obtaining or recording the necessary recording information, the media taken out of the automated warehouse must be transported to an information input/output device outside the automated warehouse and loaded or unloaded from this information input/output device. This has to be transported to an automated warehouse and stored there, and there is a problem in that obtaining or recording the necessary recording information is delayed depending on the transportation time.

Furthermore, even if the computer that controls picking in an automated warehouse is the same as the computer that controls input/output of information, picking control and input/output control are performed without any correlation; , media must be handled between the input and output devices.

For this reason, there is a problem that not only is it labor-intensive, but the human intervention is inconvenient in terms of information security management.

Additionally, there is a system limit to the number of disk drives that can be connected to one computer, so when searching for vast amounts of information such as patent information and literature information, it is not possible to process it at high speed. was there.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can speed up the reading and writing process of recorded information, save labor in handling operations, keep information confidential, and reduce the amount of information to be processed. The purpose is to provide an inexpensive information recording and reproducing system that can be scaled up.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, an information recording/reproducing system according to the present invention is provided with an information input/output device having a loading mechanism on a transfer device of an automatic warehouse for storing and accommodating media. , is characterized in that it performs medium picking control and read and write control on the medium in parallel based on input commands.

(Function) In the above configuration, when a command is given manually, the automatic warehouse and the information input/output device operate in response to the command, and medium picking control and reading and writing control for the medium are performed in parallel.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an information recording and reproducing system according to the present invention.

The information recording and reproducing system shown in this figure includes a rotary shelf 2 that can be horizontally rotated to store and accommodate a plurality of media 1, and a rotary shelf 2 that can freely rotate horizontally.
After the rotary shelf 2 is rotated and the shelf section 4 serving as a storage place for the necessary medium 1 is run to the recording and reproducing apparatus main body 3, the rotating shelf 2 is rotated. The recording/reproducing apparatus main body 3 takes out the medium 1 from the shelf section 4 to read and record information, and stores the medium 1 on the shelf section 4 after these processes have been completed.

The rotating shelf 2 has a stage 5 having a plurality of shelf parts 4 as shown in FIG.
When selecting the medium 1, one of the stages 5 is selected and driven to rotate as required.

In addition, the recording/reproducing device main body 3 is equipped with a transfer device 6 as shown in FIG.
and a lifting guide 7 that holds the transfer device 6 in a vertically movable manner.
and a pusher 8 for taking out the medium that is controlled to rise and fall together with the transfer device 6.

The transfer device 6 is connected to the pusher 8 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
It has a front buffer 10 for temporarily storing the medium 1 transferred from the carousel 2 and a loading arm 11, and the loading arm 11 loads the medium 1 stored in the front buffer 10 and reads information, An input/output device 12 for writing and this input/output device 1
The medium 1 unloaded by the loading arm 11 of No. 2 is temporarily stored in a rear buffer 1.3, and the medium 1 stored in the subsequent buffer 13 is transferred to the rotating shelf 2.
It is also equipped with a bushing 14 for storing media to be transferred to and from.

These carousel 2 and recording/reproducing device main body 3 are connected to the fifth
As shown in the figure, they are controlled in parallel by one host computer 20.

In this case, a host computer 20 that controls the entire system controls an automatic warehouse control device 21 and a human output control device 21 to control the carousel 2 and the recording/reproducing device main body 3 in parallel.

The automatic warehouse control device 21 selects which of the stages 5 of the carousel 2 based on a command from the host computer 20, rotates it, takes it out, and selects the storage location of the medium 1 to be stored in each carousel 8. , or a process of moving the button to the position of the button 14, a process of operating the button 8 to transfer the medium 1 stored in this storage location (medium to be taken out and stored) to the front buffer 10, and operating the button 14. In addition, the human output control device 22 controls the loading arm 11 of the input/output device 12 based on instructions from the host computer 20. A process of loading the medium 1 temporarily stored in the front buffer 10 into the input/output device 12 by controlling the loading arm 11 to read the medium 1 by the input/output device 12, and loading the medium 1 on which writing has been completed. Processing such as temporarily storing the data in the rear buffer 13 is performed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, each time an input/output request occurs in the host computer 20, the host computer 20 sequentially determines the locations where the media 1 to be input/output are stored based on each input/output request, and Shelving data indicating each location is sequentially supplied to the automatic warehouse control device 21, and the media 1 stored on the carousel 2 are sequentially transferred to the front buffer 10.

Also, in parallel with this operation, the host computer 20 supplies a loading command to the input/output control device 22,
Each medium 1 temporarily stored in the front buffer 10 is sequentially loaded into the input/output device 12 starting from the first one, and read processing, writing processing, etc. are performed on this medium 1, and then the medium 1 on which these processes have been completed is loaded. are unloaded and stored in the back buffer 13 sequentially.

Then, before the rear buffer 13 becomes full, the host computer 20 sequentially determines the storage location of each medium 1 temporarily stored in the rear buffer 13, and transfers shelf data indicating these locations to the automatic warehouse controller 20. sequentially supplied to
The medium 1 temporarily stored in the rear buffer 13 is transferred to the rotating shelf 2.
storage and storage locations in sequence.

Thus, in this embodiment, the media 1 is transferred from the rotating shelf 2.
Since the medium 1 is taken out and loaded onto the input/output device 12 placed on the transfer device 6, and the medium 1 unloaded from the input/output device 12 is stored on the carousel 2, handling is easy. It can save labor and keep information confidential.

Furthermore, since the picking process for the medium 1 and the reading and writing processes for the medium 1 are performed in parallel, it is possible to speed up the reading and writing processes of recorded information.

In addition, since the media 1 on the carousel 2 can be processed by one input/output device 12, the cost of the system can be kept low, and even if the number of media 1 is enormous, one system can process the media 1 on the carousel 2. can be processed.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention was explained by taking a horizontal rotating rack type automatic warehouse as an example, but the present invention is not limited to such a horizontal rotating rack type automatic warehouse, but can also be applied to a vertical rotating rack type automatic warehouse, a stacker type automatic warehouse, etc. It can be applied to all automated warehouses that can be automatically transferred, such as multi-level automated warehouses.

Further, as the medium 1, optical disks, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, etc. can be used as long as they can be automatically loaded and unloaded.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the input/output device 12 is used to process digital information, but it is also possible to process audio information, video information, etc. using an input/output device that processes analog information. It's okay.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to speed up the reading and writing process of recorded information while keeping the overall system cost low, and it is also possible to save labor in handling operations and keep information confidential. Furthermore, the amount of information to be processed can be increased.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the information recording and reproducing system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a detail of the transfer device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view of the transfer device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the control system of the same embodiment. ...Media 2...Carousel 3...Transfer device 2...Information input/output device (input/output device)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An information input/output device with a loading mechanism is installed on the transfer device of an automatic warehouse that stores and accommodates media, and based on input commands, media picking control and read/write control for the media are performed in parallel. An information recording and reproducing system characterized by: